Rayn knew Moritz????
The thought looped in my head as I watched the two of them stand face-to-face. Rayn hardly knew Moritz..umm maybe?? They were practically strangers, yet the way they locked eyes felt strangely charged.
"It's a pleasure to finally speak to you properly, Ranyald Alsrio," Moritz said, his voice smooth, calculated, and carrying a faint accent.
Ranyald Alsrio.
My breath hitched slightly. Ranyald? That was the first time I had ever heard Rayn's full name. It sounded heavy, formal, almost regal. I glanced at Rayn, trying to process the revelation, but his face was an unreadable mask.
Moritz extended a hand, offering a polite, practiced smile. "I don't believe we've formally met. I'm Moritz."
Rayn didn't flinch. He looked down at the offered hand before giving a stiff, brief shake. "I know who you are. You were on the list for my sister's party."
"Ah, yes. Ilya's event," Moritz replied smoothly, slipping his hands into his pockets. He turned his attention toward me, his stance relaxing. "Well, since we're all here... Arora, would you mind joining me for a quick sit-down? There's a small business matter I'd like to discuss with you."
I opened my mouth to answer, but before a single word could slip out, Rayn stepped forward. His shoulder subtly blocked half my view of Moritz, his tall frame cutting off the invitation entirely.
"She can't," Rayn said coldly.
Moritz raised an eyebrow, amused rather than offended. "Oh? And why is that?"
"She forgot we already have plans," Rayn stated, his tone leaving zero room for negotiation.
I blinked, staring at the back of Rayn's head in utter confusion. Plans? What plan?? My mind raced, trying to figure out if I had somehow blanked on an entire conversation, or if Rayn was completely making things up. Was he being protective? Jealous? I couldn't tell, but the sudden territorial edge in his posture was unmistakable.
Moritz held Rayn's glare for a long moment, reading between the lines. A faint, knowing smirk touched the corner of his lips. "I see. Far be it from me to interrupt. We'll speak another time then, Arora."
With a polite nod to me, Moritz turned and strolled away, blending effortlessly into the crowd.
The second he was out of earshot, I crossed my arms tightly over my chest and leveled Rayn with a lethal glare. "What the fuck just happened?"
Rayn turned around, completely unfazed, adjusting the cuffs of his jacket. "What do you mean?"
"Which plan did we make, Rayn?" I demanded, pitching my voice low. "Because as far as I remember, I was having a perfectly normal day before you swooped in and lied straight to his face."
Rayn matched my glare, his expression cool and distant. "I'm not risking my sister's best friend going off alone with some unknown guy."
"Moritz is not an unknown guy!" I snapped back, exasperated. "He was at Ilya's party, you literally just acknowledged him, and—"
"What is going on here?"
Ilya's voice cut through our argument. She walked up to us, holding a shopping bag, her eyes darting suspiciously between Rayn and me. "Rayn? What are you doing here? Why are you two arguing?"
"We're not arguing," Rayn said immediately, his tone smoothing out into a effortless lie.
I shot him a sharp side-eye, fighting the urge to roll my eyes to the back of my head.
"Right. You just look like you're about to bite each other's heads off," Ilya said, looking at her brother with narrowed eyes. "Seriously, why are you at the mall?"
"I was driving past the road," Rayn replied casually, resting a hand in his pocket. "Thought I'd drop in and see how you were doing."
I stared at him, genuinely wondering if he had lost his absolute mind. Passing the road? He came into a massive mall on a whim just to "check on" his sister? It was the flimsiest excuse I had ever heard in my life.
Ilya clearly thought so too. She let out a dry laugh and shook her head. "Well, you saw me. I'm completely fine. You can go now so Arora and I can actually finish what we were doing."
Rayn lingered for a fraction of a second, his dark eyes shifting to me one last time before he finally took a step back. "Fine. Don't stay out too late."
As he turned and walked away, I let out a long breath, watching his retreating back and wondering what on earth had just gotten into Ranyald Alsrio.